This is a useful debate in my opinion! It is useful because someone may come up with a great idea which we could see in a machine in the future.
When I think about innovation I think about totally new ideas, or applying old ideas in a new way.
A totally new idea would be something to aim at that is not a ramp, target, loop, spinner, captive ball and so on, but something completely new. Totally new ideas can be difficult to think up! But it has been done in the past, is happening right now and will continue on happening in the future. There are heaps of pinball innovations like this. Stern has done nothing I can think of that is totally new.
Innovation by applying old ideas in a new way would be, for example, using a different type of sensor or method to know where the ball is other than a mechanical switch or an optical switch - for example, using a laser array in place of a switch matrix. I don't think Stern has done anything that innovative either. The ship on Pirates of the Caribbean is this sort of innovation in its least innovative form, as it is dressing up a bunch of switches as a ship which is also a collapsible playfield toy. Mousin' Around, for example, takes the idea of a ball lock and drop target and merges them into the one feature to produce a ball lock that drops and holds the ball under the playfield until released. What has Stern given us?
Having said that, they are still alive as a company and are making pinball machines.
I would buy a POTC at the right price, and have nothing against Stern.
However, I think it is important that someone be thinking about how to innovate within pinball so that it still feels modern and attempts to engage a new and younger audience, and to provide easier maintenance.
